Analysis of the Chemical Constituents and Evaluation of the Functional Activities of 103 Kinds of Medicinal and Edible Plants
In order to conduct a comparative analysis of traditional medicine-food homology ingredients in China,103 medicinal and edible plants(MEPs)were selected and divided into eight categories based on their appearance.The study evaluated the following properties of MEPs:Total phenolic content(TPC),total flavonoid content(TFC),in vitro an-tioxidant activity and α-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase inhibition.Furthermore,their chemical constituents were i-dentified by high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC).The results showed significant differences in TPC and TFC among MEPs,where Flos caryophylli in the mosaic category and Fructus canarii in the fruit category had the highest TPC with values of 309.59 µg GAE/mg and 229.64 µg GAE/mg.For TFC,Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz.and Cir-sium setosum in the whole grass category were the highest(662.31 µg RE/mg and 505.33 µg RE/mg).Meanwhile,mosa-ic,fruit,and whole grass category had good antioxidant activities.In addition,Rubus chingii and Fructus canarii in the fruit category,Cinnamomum cassia Presl in the derma category,and Flos caryophylli in the mosaic category demonstrated strong α-glucosidase inhibition activity.While turmeric in the rhizome category,Cinnamomum cassia Presl in the derma category,Herba moslae in the whole grass category exerted a remarkable inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase.HPLC analysis revealed that the mosaic,fruit,and whole grass categories had the most abundant compound species.In addition,catechin,chlorogenic acid,and epicatechin were the main compounds and had a significant positive correlation with antioxidant activity,It may be the main active substance of antioxidant in these medicinal and edible plants.This is the first comparative analysis on the chemical constituents and functional activities of 103 traditional MEPs,which can provide a valuable reference for the application of the clinical therapy and resident dietary guidance of these MEPs.
medicinal and edible plantsactive ingredientantioxidant activityα-glucosidaseacetylcholinesterase